The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Begonia plant, botanically known as Begonia×hiemalis, commercially known as Elatior Begonia and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Gideon’.
The new Begonia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Ermelo, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program is to create new vigorous Begonia cultivars with excellent postproduction longevity.
The new Begonia originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in Ermelo, The Netherlands in January, 2001 of an unnamed selection of Begonia tuberhybrida, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unnamed selection of Begonia socotrana, not patented. The cultivar Elektra Pink was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant from within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Ermelo, The Netherlands in June, 2001.
Asexual reproduction of the new Begonia by cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Ermelo, the Netherlands since June, 2002, has shown that the unique features of this new Begonia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.